What would it take to change you from car travel to bus travel ?

Question

please discuss ?

Answer 1

For there actually to be a bus going past my door and if there was one then going to where I wanted to go.

Neareast bus to me is over a mile away.

I get free bus travel but it is no use if there is no bus!!!

Answer 2

I don't have any option but to travel by bus these days. Just split up from husband and can't afford a car of my own yet. On the whole, it's ok. It is a bit of a hassle though, especially in winter and at nights. Buses are usually busy with standing room only, too many pushchairs, weirdos and yobs. The fares are over-priced and the service is unreliable. If the government could fund bus travel to enable all members of the public to travel free of charge this would probably encourage more people to travel by bus. Also, if there were greater security measures in place, this too would be an incentive. Safety at bus shelters would be a good idea too.

Answer 3

It would take something like provision of the services found on the Continent, always on time, cheap, reliable, clean and frequent. Until we have an integrated transport system in the UK, this is never going to happen.

The biggest upset to our public transport system took place some time ago, organised by a certain Dr Beeching, and implemented by the then Labour Government (wouldn't you just have guessed?!). This was followed by the privatisation of the bus services, and that just about completed the total mess-up.

When I travel by car, I now have 4 or 5 passengers on a regular basis. It would cost a fortune to go by public transport, and the waste of time waiting for buses and trains would be incalculable.

All that both Labour and Ken (Red) Livingstone seem to want to do is take more money from our pockets, and NOT use it to improve ANY services, including transport!

Perhaps, just maybe, if Boris Johnson wins the London mayoral election, we may see some improvement, which might then, possibly, spread to the rest of our country.

Answer 4

In my part of London, the first buses (as in time, not the company), as well as night buses, are generally reliable. Other than those, it is a lottery. I agree with practically everything that has been said already, except for me price is not a factor as free travel is a great benefit of working in public transport. That said, I use my car more often than not simply because the journey from my house to the depot is half an hour in my air-conditioned car, compared to one-and-a-half hours by tube, bus or a combination of the two. I would argue, in my ecological defence, that I often have to travel to or from work at times when public transport is not running on some part of my route.

Answer 5

I do both. if I do not have to change or carry a lot of shopping I will get a bus if I do I will take my car. Over the last few years bus cleanliness has improved but I still do not find them particularly comfortable. Rush hours are to be avoided as with trains. the advantage with a car is that I can leave and return when it suits me. I can have my radio on to a programme I want or not have it on at all. I can have it as hot or cold as I wish with Windows open or closed to suit me. The bus means I do not have to concern myself with the traffic conditions. There is often someone to talk with. I do not have to find a parking space. which means that sometimes it stops nearer to my destination. it is a case of horses for courses. I'd actually prefer a push bike but I am not inclined to commit suicide l

Answer 6

a few simple things really
1 - if there was a direct route to get where i need to go via bus that is not out of my schedule but as of now i need to switch from a bus to nyc to a train to neward then light rail to get to my destination in the fastest method of public transportation.
2 - if that bus that would take me straight to my destination was an express bus, i can't stand the local ones when i have a certain time limit to get to a point.
3 - if the almost daily traffic jam wasn't there, i can avoid it via detours in the car, bus won't bother and i'm not going to be missing classes just because of that.
4 - my car was being worked on or someone i know and trust beyond all else needs it more than me for a more or less fixed time interval
5 - if gas prices, high and unreasonable as they are, went skyrocketting up in an even greater rate in a manner where i would not be able to afford gas and/or it would be better to cope with the incoveniences of relying on someone else who is bound to a certain route to get me to my destination in time, which i doubt that the government will permit to happen so drastically since anyone in power would basically be voted out in an instant.

Answer 7

I start work at 4:45 am Monday to Friday to get there in my car takes 10 minutes.
If I wanted to go by Bus it would mean me driving in to a neighbouring town at 2:30 am to catch the all night hourly Bus service in to the city then a 2 mile walk at 3:15 am across the city through some areas that make Beriut look like a haven of peace and tranquilty, To catch a 2nd Bus to take me to the town I work in to be there for 4:30 am. This would cost me 10 pounds a day in Bus fares to get to work and back home.
In the car it costs me 3 pounds in petrol a day to get there and back.
Until the Bus picks me up at my door takes me directly to were I'm going at the time I'm going at and costs the same as going in my car.
I'm going to stick to using my car.

Answer 8

i changed from environmentally friendly bus travel back to car travel recently. why? because every single day now when i sit on a bus, people are smoking marijuana on the upstairs level, or ordinary cigarettes and on both levels i am forced to listen to loud music being played by teenagers. this happens every single day and the bus drivers do nothing nor do they enforce any laws protecting the rest of us.
i have also been threatened twice by 'weirdo's' on buses.

sorry, but from last week i am back to travelling by car. the bus drivers 'don't want to get involved' in giving us a quiet, safe and smoke free route to and from work then i will not take the buses.

Answer 9

Buses would have to run very early in the morning for me to get to work for 6am.
And they would have to have a more frequent sevice with better connections.
I work on the railways and have to be at work before even the 1st train of the day runs.
Going by car takes me 30-40 mins depending on the time of day,by bus or tram/train takes 120 min or more(and no sunday service can get me to work at all).

It's about time people with "green issues" realised that in order for public transport even start up in a morning,there are a lot of car journys made.
And it's no use arguing I should move closer to my place of work(housing too costly)...or moving to another location(Networkrail modernising and closing signalboxes means longer and longer travel to work).

Answer 10

The knowledge that there would be "another one along in a minute."
If I miss my bus from the Town Centre (it could be just 30 seconds and you see it pull away in front of you), I have to stand at the bus stop for an hour to wait for the next one.